2019–20 NBA season
The 2019–20 NBA season is the 74th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 22, 2019 and will end on April 15, 2020. The playoffs will begin on April 18, 2020, and will end with the NBA Finals in June 2020. The 2020 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 16, 2020, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Transactions Retirement * In September 2018, Dwyane Wade announced his intentions to retire from the NBA at the end of the 2018–19 season. Wade played his 16 seasons with the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers franchises, winning three championships with the Heat in 2006, 2012 and 2013. Wade is believed by many as the greatest Miami Heat player of all time. * On March 1, 2019, Channing Frye announced his retirement from the NBA. Frye played 13 seasons in the NBA, winning one championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. * On April 9, 2019, Dirk Nowitzki announced his retirement from the NBA. Nowitzki played all his 21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks franchise, winning one championship and Finals MVP with the Mavericks in 2011. * On June 5, 2019, Vince Carter announced his intentions to retire after the 2019–20 season. Carter played for eight franchises during a record 22-year career in the NBA, and is set to become the first player ever to play in 4 different decades. Believed by many as the greatest Toronto Raptor/dunker of all time, Carter is the last remaining active player to have been drafted and played in the 1990s. * On June 10, 2019, Tony Parker announced his retirement from the NBA. He played 18 seasons in the NBA and was a four-time NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs. * On June 28, 2019, Darren Collison announced his retirement from the NBA. He played for 5 franchises during his 10 year NBA career. * On August 29, 2019, Zaza Pachulia announced his retirement from the NBA. He played for six franchises during his 16 year career. He won two championships with the Golden State Warriors. * On September 13, 2019, Shaun Livingston announced his retirement from the NBA. He played for ten franchises during his 15 year NBA career. He won three championships with the Golden State Warriors. * On October 17, 2019, Luol Deng signed a ceremonial one-day contract with the Chicago Bulls and officially retired as a Bull after playing 15 seasons. He was a 2x All-Star with the Bulls. * On November 4, 2019, José Calderón announced his retirement from the NBA. He played for seven franchises during his 14-year NBA career. * On December 28, 2019, Zach Randolph announced his retirement from the NBA, Randolph played for five franchises during his 17-year NBA career. He was a 2x All-Star with the Memphis Grizzlies. * On February 16, 2020, Marcin Gortat announced his retirement after playing 12 seasons in NBA. He last played with the Los Angeles Clippers until February 7, 2019. Free agency Free agency negotiations began on June 30, 2019 at 6 p.m. ET, unlike July 1st from previous seasons. Players officially signed after the July moratorium on July 6 at 12 p.m. ET. Preseason The preseason will began September 30, 2019 and ended on October 18, 2019. International games The Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings played two preseason games at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium in Mumbai, India on October 4 and 5, 2019. The Toronto Raptors and the Houston Rockets played two preseason games at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan on October 8 and 10, 2019. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets played two preseason games in China, in Shanghai on October 10 and in Shenzhen on October 12. The Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks played one preseason game in Canada, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on October 17. Regular season The regular season began on October 22, 2019 and will end on April 15, 2020. The entire schedule was released on August 12, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. ET. International games On March 28, 2019, the NBA announced that the Charlotte Hornets and the Milwaukee Bucks will play at AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France on January 24, 2020. On June 7, 2019, the NBA announced that the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs would play at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City, marking the first time that four NBA teams will play in Mexico City in one regular season. The Mavericks and Pistons played on December 12, 2019, and the Spurs and Suns played on December 14, 2019. Arenas * This is the Golden State Warriors' first season at the new Chase Center in San Francisco after playing at Oracle Arena in Oakland from 1971 to 2019. The Warriors played their first game there in a preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 5, 2019. The first regular season game there was played against the Los Angeles Clippers on October 24, 2019. * The Cleveland Cavaliers' home arena, formerly known as Quicken Loans Arena, was renamed Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on April 9, 2019. Media This will be the fourth year of the current nine-year contracts with ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV. Under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, the Fox Sports Regional Networks were required to be sold off to third parties by June 18, 2019. Fox also invoked a clause to give Yankee Global Enterprises the rights to buy their stake back in the YES Network, which airs the local broadcasts to the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. Including YES, the Fox Sports Regional Networks hold the local TV rights to a combined total of 44 NHL, NBA, and MLB teams. On March 8, YES was sold to a consortium including Yankee Global Enterprises, Amazon, and Sinclair Broadcast Group for $3.5 billion. Then on May 3, Sinclair and Entertainment Studios agreed to purchase the rest of the Fox Sports Regional Networks. Notable occurrences * On October 24, 2019, Vince Carter of the Atlanta Hawks became the first player in NBA history to play 22 seasons. Carter officially checked in the game at 6:52 in the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons. * On November 3, 2019, Luka Dončić of the Dallas Mavericks became the youngest player to record consecutive 25-point triple doubles. * On November 19, 2019, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers became the first player in NBA history to record a triple double against all 30 NBA teams. * On November 27, 2019, LeBron James became the 4th player in NBA history to reach 33,000 career points. * On December 8, 2019, Luka Dončić surpassed the record for the most consecutive games with at least 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976. Michael Jordan previously held the record, recording 18 consecutive games with at least 20-5-5 between March 13, 1989 and April 4, 1989. * On December 10, 2019, Vince Carter became the fifth player in NBA history to play at least 1,500 games. * On December 28, 2019, Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans, in addition to Justin Holiday and Aaron Holiday of the Indiana Pacers, became the first three brothers to play in the same NBA game. * On December 29, 2019, LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to record at least 30,000 points, 9,000 rebounds and 9,000 assists. * On January 1, 2020, NBA Commissioner Emeritus David Stern passed away at the age of 77, due to a brain hemorrhage sustained a few weeks prior. * On January 4, 2020, Vince Carter became the only player in NBA history to have played in four different calendar decades. * On January 13, 2020, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder became the youngest player in NBA history to record a 20-rebound triple-double at 21 years and 185 days old. * On January 20, 2020, Russell Westbrook of the Houston Rockets became the second player to record a triple-double against all 30 NBA teams. * On January 22, 2020, Vince Carter moved past Alex English for 19th on the NBA all-time scoring list. * On January 22, 2020, Zion Williamson made his professional debut, in a 121–117 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. He played 18 minutes and finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds, scoring 17 consecutive points in 3:08 minutes during the fourth quarter. * On January 25, 2020, LeBron James moved past Kobe Bryant for 3rd on the NBA all-time scoring list. * On January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. During games, players paid tribute by dribbling through the 24-second shot clock violation and the 8-second backcourt violation, referencing the two numbers Bryant wore during his career. * On January 27, the NBA announced that they would postpone the January 28 game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center out of respect to Bryant. * On January 31, 2020, Vince Carter moved up to 3rd place in the NBA all-time games played list with 1,523 passing Dirk Nowitzki in the process. Category:2019–20 NBA season